we'll tell you about that coming up. good morning, it is thursday. i'm brian hackney. >> i'm michelle griego. time now is 6:00. we're following some breaking news right now out of san francisco's ocean view district. >> crews on the scene of a big fire burning near a historic firehouse. we're hearing reports of more fire companies being called out to respond. the fire is burning in an apartment complex on 119 broad street. 10 people have been evacuated. it's burning next door to engine company 33, according to a website, the victorian style building dates back to 1896. we have a crew on the way. we'll get you the latest as soon as we hear it. a loud boom on the peninsula after a bomb squad dead nature volatile materials. authorities found 30-year-old chemicals inside a san mateo house yesterday. the acid and ether were both too dangerous to move so they detonated the chemicals on the

front lawn. no one was hurt. but the house suffered major damage. >> it was significant. it damaged the windows in front of her home. >> officers evacuated the block at least 500 households were notified of the controlled detonation. >> investigators in cupertino were trying to figure out who opened fire on a marine recruiter's car on a busy freeway yesterday. the recruiter was headed southbound on highway 85 when he was shot at several times. the government issued pontiac was riddled with bullets on the driver's side. some of the slugs traveled through the car breaking a window. officers believe the shooting was random. >> marine corps officer had a cover jacket on. you couldn't see his uniform

from the outside. >> investigators shut down the freeway for two hours. more tearful goodbyes for the victims of the school shooting in newtown, connecticut. vice president joe biden will meet will law enforcement officers today from across the country. his new task force is expected to release recommendations to reduce gun violence next month. funeral services for five more victims are being held today. cbs reporter marlie hall with new calls for action. >> reporter: connecticut senator richard bloomenthal and senator-elect chris murphy met wednesday with a group called newtown united. residents came together after the shooting to push for a ban on assault weapons. >> good morning. >> reporter: they may have a new supporter in president obama. he wants new laws to try to prevent another tragedy like the one at sandy hook

elementary school. >> the fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence. >> reporter: as head of the president's task force, vice president biden will look into banning assault weapons, but gun advocates say that's not necessary. >> there are lots of things we can do to make sure that only the right people have firearms. >> reporter: there will be at least nine more funerals or viewings today. on wednesday, each of the victims was remembered in his or her own special way. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: paul simon sang at the funeral for 27-year-old teacher victoria soto. she died trying to protect her first grade students. >> she gave her life for those kids. it breaks my heart. >> reporter: 7-year-old daniel barden wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. so firemen from across the region said good-bye to him as though he were one of their own. caroline previdi liked to draw and dance. charlotte bacon loved animals.

and principal dawn hochsprung was a mother of two, but friends and family say all of her students were her kids. marlie hall for cbs news, newtown, connecticut. the bay area will light candles tonight for the shooting victims. cbs 5 and kcbs radio will host a night for newtown. it starts at 5 p.m. at the holiday ice ripping at embarcadero center in san francisco. we are taking donations of unwrapped teddy bears or toys to horn the memory of the newtown students and teachers. all toys will go to children in need in the bay area. for more, go to our website, cbssf.com/newtown. two popular songs pulled off the air. some of radio stations dropped foster the people's pumped up kicks from their playlist. the lyrics tell the story of a boy planning a violent school shooting. others are dropping ke$ha's die young. she says she knows why it's

inappropriate. we have been asking what do you think about radio stations pulling the songs in the wake of the shooting? jesse james tweeted: on facebook or twitter or el us at mornings at cbs 5 dot. another cold morning. let's you can comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com. it's 6:06 right now. let's check the weather. because lawrence is finally joining us. he is finally back! >> i have been singing all my christmas songs. to your guys' dismay. as i'm walking down the halls here at channel 5. around the bay area today, we have some clouds beginning to gather to our north just starting to slide into the north bay so not quite as cold as it has been but still chilly in spots but you can also see that rain is not too far away either. we are going to see the storm system move in and it's going to be fierce as it slides through. mostly clear over the bay now. temperatures cold in spots. 29 degrees in concord. it is 30 degrees now in livermore. 39 in san jose. and 40 in san francisco.

by the afternoon skies will become mostly cloudy. the temperatures only in about the mid- to upper 50s and that's it maybe beginning to see a few showers north of the golden gate bridge. but tonight, a fierce storm headed our way. expect some heavy rain and gusty winds. more storms for the weekend. let's check the roads with elizabeth. >> thank you, lawrence. we'll take you out towards the bay bridge toll plaza. get a little stacked up there at least in some of the outer cash lanes. we're also getting word of a possible hit-and-run on the upper deck near the "s" curve. not sure at this point if it's still block lanes. we'll let you know. no metering lights yet. san mateo bridge traffic is fine, no problems either direction of westbound or eastbound 92. and to our maps now and a breaking news story this morning. san francisco two alarm apartment fire burning now, 119 broad street as you can see it's close to 280 heavy smoke flames maybe visible from the freeway. we're also just getting word this is impacting muni service at m, ocean view line blocked

at broad and plymouth. so they are using shuttle buses instead. bart delays on the fremont line. there was debris on the tracks and just a heads up about 15- minute delays there. otherwise, ace, caltrain and ferries good to go. that's traffic. back to you guys. a woman was shot and killed in east oakland by a stray bullets. 9100 block of international boulevard, shots were heard around 7:00 last night. investigators say the victim was not the intended target. no arrests have been made. the search is on for a third suspect in the abduction of a handyman in morgan hill. investigators say richard rodriguez, jr., of alameda along with two others lured the victim to a mansion earlier this month. the handyman was held hostage, beaten and forced to make repairs. the suspects then tried to take the victim to their mother's

house for more repairs. the man escaped at a gas station. the public utilities commission decides today how much pg&e customers will pay to upgrade the company's aging pipelines. pg&e is proposing $2.2 billion in safety improvements. the company wants ratepayers to pay for 90% of the costs. but a judge has recommended only 55%. now it's up to the cpu on how the tab will be split. chevron's choice of metal to replace fire-damaged sections of its richmond refinery meets industry standards and fire codes according to a report from a consulting engineer for the city. the report did not, however, endorse the use of the metal known as 9 chrome. a federal investigation did find 9 chrome piping can still be corroded and leak causing fires. people are already lining up in san jose for a massive toy and book giveaway. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran joins us live now from the sacred heart community service and cate, thousands of kids are expected to get a gift this

morning. >> reporter: you're right. about 5600 kids will be getting toys and books this morning thanks to the efforts of the local community. i want to show you we also want to thank the parents and efforts of sacred heart and your donations. sacred heart has checked more than 17,000 toys and books. it's part of the christmas toy box distribution. sacred heart does this event every year for the past 10 years to help keep the holiday spirit alive for low income bay area families. now, starting at 10 a.m., parents will be able to pick out age-appropriate toys for their children. and parents we spoke to have been here since 5:30 last night. they are braving the cold temperatures because they say christmas morning smiles make it all worth it. >> oh, yeah, just to see their dimples, you know? it's exciting. and it brings a tear to my face, to my eyes. >> reporter: now, there is still time t donate. they are still short on gifts

for teens and books for all ages. donate online or at their location on first street in san jose. in a few hours, volunteers will be escorting these parents inside the building and each kid will get or parent will get to pick out three toys for each kid for the next couple of days. reporting live in san jose, cate caugiran, cbs 5. time now is 6:11. a monster snowstorm slams the midwest and makes a mess of holiday travel. >> plus, the top selling cars that performed the worst in a crash safety test. >> not only are we coming here to help, but we're benefitting from it ourselves. >> students teaching each other. how two bay area schools are benefitting from a unique exchange program. >> and we're taking a live look in san francisco above an apartment building that's on fire. this is breaking news. crews are on the scene as you can see that here. we're hearing reports from more fire companies called out to respond to this fire burning.

we'll have more on this when we come back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

good morning. we'll go right back out to san francisco and our breaking news this morning. we have just learned that they were able to knock down what sounds like an apartment building fire. this is a live look at the intersection of broad and plymouth in the city's ocean view neighborhood. so you can see that streets are blocked off and fire crews are still there cleaning up the scene. earlier there were smoke and flames visible from 119 broad. it was an apartment fire. we heard earlier there may have been evacuations. this is impacting muni on m ocean view line essentially

blocked at broad street. so they are working to set up a bus bridge in its place. so we'll continue to keep you updated on that situation. in the meantime, towards the bay bridge look at that we have backups now in all the lanes. they just turned on the metering lights. we heard earlier about a possible hit-and-run on the upper deck of the bay bridge. we are not sure about the latest situation with that. we have been checking in with chp and we're not hearing about lanes blocked but again there was a smaller accident in that area right there by the "s" curve and they did turn on the metering lights shortly after that was first reported. elsewhere, to our maps, other live traffic cameras the golden gate bridge is flowing nicely this morning in the commute direction. that's southbound 101 commute, it's so far moving at the limit. the nimitz, 880 if you are traveling in the east bay, no delay at all past the coliseu towards to the maze. muni the m-ocean view line delays because of the apartment building fire in the neighborhood at broad and plymouth. they are working to set up a

bus bridge. also slight delays on the fremont line for bart due to some earlier debris on tracks. that is a traffic check. for more on your weather forecast, we have a storm heading our way, here's lawrence. >> yeah. another cold start to the day around the bay area, frosty in some parts outside. beginning to see a few high clouds drift in overhead and, of course, that means a change in our weather throughout the day today. but a cold start. mostly clear to the south. beginning to see a few high clouds already in the north bay increasing clouds throughout the day and a chance of showers developing to our north. and then periods of rain on and off right in through the weekend and probably monday too. kind of quiet. you can see a few high clouds there in the distance over the bay bridge. otherwise, the temperatures pretty chilly in spots. 29 degrees in concord. 30 degrees in livermore. 37 degrees in santa rosa. 39 in san jose. but fairfield checking in at 26 degrees and it's 27 in vacaville right now. so a chilly start to the day but by the afternoon, big changes. we'll notice those clouds rolling into the bay area, more rain on the way. pretty fierce storm headed

toward the bay area but a slow mover that's going to take the better part of the day to get here. wind advisories going up tonight, gusts to 50 miles per hour out at the coastline and over the mountaintops. it is going to blow pretty good through tomorrow morning. traveling around the state, this is a pretty good day to do it, dry across the sacramento valley. wet in far northern california, though. nice and dry in the high country where they could see maybe two to five feet of snow over the weekend. all right. as we look to our computer model we have the slow-moving cold front diving into the bay area working its way ever so slowly in our direction and overnight tonight, kind of stalling out in toward tomorrow morning so some heavy rainfall expected tomorrow morning and some strong gusty winds, as well. so enjoy the day today. should stay dry. the temperatures are going to be a little cool in the mid- to upper 50s and by the afternoon it looks like more clouds on the way. possible showers developing in the north bay. more rain on and off through the weekend. looking to be dry though on christmas day, guys. back to you. >> thank you. nothing compared to what's happening in the midwest. the national weather service has issued a blizzard warning for much of the central

part of the country. it's in effect until early tomorrow. as we look live at kansas city, in colorado interstate 70 was closed for 156 miles because of high winds and reduced visibility. the storm passed through. that storm will continue to pound chicago. passengers fly o'hare from san francisco expect delays of up to at least two hours. look how they're starting the day out there. two of toyota's top selling cars are among the worst performers in the latest crash test. the insurance institute for highway safety gave the 2012 prius and camry poor ratings. toyota, however, is on track to overtake gm as the world's largest automaker. the camry is this year's number one selling family sedan in america. honda accord was among the cars that did well in that safety test. some students at a san rafael school are learning how to give and receive. they are only in middle school but part of an exchange program

that not only empowers them but empowers the group they're helping. and that's making a true exchange. that is what makes st. mark's this week's "cool school." >> this is good. >> reporter: natalie and kayla don't attend the same school but they are still good friends. >> just found that, you know, we like the same bands and the same books and we just are similar. >> reporter: they met in an exchange program between st. mark's in san rafael and canal alliance, a resource center serving marin's immigrant population. every tuesday st. mark's student visit canal students to help them with homework. >> her father would never hesitate to help another person. >> reporter: and on thursdays, the help is reciprocated. kannell kids visit st. mark's to help with spanish homework. >> there could be a teacher teaching you the infinitive and these kids are having conversations with you. you're actually learning their stories in spanish. >> the skills that we teach our kids are as important as what they learn in the classroom

from the formal crim lum. >> reporter: those skills include cooperating with others, learning to be compassionate, and negotiating differences. >> not only are we coming here to help, but we're benefitting from it ourselves. >> reporter: they help and empower each other through homework, conversation, and, of course, friendship. >> i like how st. mark's is -- they always care about a two- way street, how one group of people helps us and we also help them. >> so what's cool about your school? you can submit your nomination on our website, cbssf.com/coolschool. and we may come and feature school on the show. these kids were great on both sides. the kannell kids and the st. mark's kids. >> they are such bright kids. >> they are. i told max there that he was probably going to be the next president of the united states when he gets older. >> i wouldn' doubt it. coming up a fire that's affecting muni service in san francisco. anne makovec will have a live

report. >> there were 258 points scored in sacramento last night. did the warriors outlast the kings? >> quiet and cold around the bay area right now but we have storm clouds coming and snow too in the high country. if you are heading up there we have your snow report: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[ boy's voice ] hey guys...what're you doing? [ girl's voice ] we're gonna have lunch together. what're you having? oh, well, i only have this one, so... that'll do, i'll split it with sally. yea, we'll just share it. [ male announcer ] get your own subway steak melt, like the steak & bacon melt. subway. eat fresh®. saying thanks is a great deals customer appreciation month at subway restaurants. because we're offering $2 six inch subs -- the cold cut combo or meatball marinara. $2 each, all december long. appreciation tastes amazing! hurry in for your $2 sub. subway. eat fresh. oakland needed more defense on this away game. some high points - the warriors overcame 15 point deficit to take the lead. but the e points than the oakland warriors fell short in the triple-digit

shootout with the kings. high points, though. the warriors overcame a 15- point deficit to take the lead. but the kings scored more points than any team all year against the warriors. sacramento ended up winning 131- 127. the nba has our play of the day for the sixers and the rockets. ready for this? all right. in the 3rd quarter, check out harvin, without looking, he passes between the legs for the assist. rockets go on to win this one 125-103. >> i like that. >> kind of a subtle play of the day. >> subtle but it was in between the legs of his opponent. >> whatever gets the ball in the basket. >> yes. it is 26 minutes now after the hour of 6:00 on this thursday morning. coming up, no refunds. why oakland is keeping the profits from overpaid parking tickets. >> plus an explosive discovery. what was found in the basement of this san mateo home. >> and we continue to follow breaking news in san francisco this morning. crews have knocked down an

apartment fire right next to a historic fire station. it is continuing though to have an impact on public transit. we'll have a live report after the break. ,, ,,,,,,,, well, well, well.

growing up, we didn't have u-verse. we couldn't record four shows at the same time. in my day, you were lucky if you could record two shows. and if mom was recording her dumb show and dad was recording his dumb show then, by george, that's all we watched. and we liked it! today's kids got it so good. [ male announcer ] get u-verse tv with a total home dvr included free for life. only $29 a month for six months.

and i'm brian hackney. frank i orning. time is 6- you're watching cbs 5 "eyewitness news this morning." >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning, it's thursday, december 20. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank is off this morning. breaking news. fire crews have contained a big apartment fire in the ocean view district on broad street. this is a live look right now from chopper 5. you can see all of the crews down there. now, this fire is burning next door to engine company 33. it's a historic fire station.

we're also hearing at least 10 people have been evacuated from the three-story building. the fire had blocked the m line service of muni in the area. elizabeth has more on that. >> even though the fire is under control, you can see all those fire trucks out there block the roadway at broad and plymouth. so this is still impacting muni service. we just talked to the muni spokesman over the phone. the fire trucks and gear blocking the tracks right there, it's impacting outbound m-ocean view line service so they are still working to set up some bus bridges for people if you are heading towards west portal. so the oceanview neighborhood is impacted. what else is going on, here's a live look through milpitas the 880/237 interchange. actually starting to see a few brakes lights now in the westbound commute direction. and a little bit on southbound 880 heading to the scene.

elsewhere golden gate bridge flowing nicely both directions. no delay heading towards doyle drive. the marin county commute so far good. a similar story actually in the south bay, so far traffic is moving at the limit on 101, the guadalupe parkway and 280. those are all live drive time sensors. westbound 580 actually we are seeing a little bit of changing color on our sensors now and that drive time is up to 24 minutes between the altamont pass and the dublin interchange. that's a check of traffi. lawrence is monitoring the storm. >> no drama just yet but i think that will change as we have a pretty significant storm system bearing down on the bay area. kind of a quiet start to the day so far and again, chilly start but you will notice those clouds gathering to the north. it will take the better part of day for this system to get down here. so you can see out over the bay, you have mostly clear skies to the south. a few clouds out there but the temperatures are cold once again. a frosty start in concord at 29 degrees. 30 degrees in livermore. and 37 degrees a few clouds moving into the north bay and

that's keeping those temperatures up just a little bit. now, by the afternoon, skies likely to become mostly cloudy, temperatures probably in mid- to upper 50s. maybe beginning to see a few showers developing in th north bay, winds ramp up and heavy rains and gusty winds. a series of storms is on the way. more on that later. back to you. all clear for one peninsula neighborhood after a bomb squad detonated volatile chemicals. authorities found 30-year-old teams inside a san mateo house yesterday. the acid and ether were too dangerous to move so they detonated the chemicals on the front lawn. no injuries were reported. but the explosion did shatter some windows at the front of the home. the santa clara sheriff's department is searching for the gunman who opened fire on a marine recruiter's car on a freeway yesterday. he was headed southbound on highway 85 when he was shot at several times. the government-issued pontiac

was riddled with bullets on the driver's side. some of the slugs traveled through the car breaking a window. officers believe though that the shooting was random. >> we believe it doesn't appear to be targeted. the marine corps officer had a cover jacket on so he was in uniform but he had a cover jacket on. his uniform wasn't visible from the outside. >> investigators shut down the freeway for two hours and they want to know where those bullets came from so csi techs will try to calculate the trajectory of the bullets that were recovered. in the aftermath of the school shooting in newtown, connecticut, the white house is stepping up its push for new gun control laws. the vice president starts his task force today and president obama is demanding real action. >> i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all. but that can't be an excuse not

to try. it will take commitment and compromise and most of all it will take courage. >> the president wants congress to vote early next year to renew the ban on military-style assault weapons and outlaw sales of high capacity ammunition clips. he also wants to close the gun show loophole so all buyers are subject to federal background checks. ♪ [ music ] >> in newtown, paul simon sang at the funeral for 27-year-old teacher victoria soto. she died trying to protect her first grade studentsful firefighters from across the northeast came to honor 7-year- old daniel barden, who said he wanted to be a firefighter someday. >> firefighters were here in tribute to this young child and all the souls that were lost in this community. >> today the funerals continue for five other families. there are also four viewings

set for victims. 20 children and six adults were killed in the shooting. tonight, cbs 5 and kcbs radio will host a candlelight vigil for newtown. it starts at 5 p.m. at the holiday ice ring at embarcadero center in san francisco. we are collecting donations of unwrapped teddy bears or toys to honor the memory of the newtown students and teachers. all toys will go to children in need here in the bay area. for more details, go to our website, cbssf.com/newtown. well, after months of name calling and finger pointing, the battle over thomas kinkade's $66 million estate has been secretly settled. lawyers for kinkade's widow and girlfriend announced the settlement but didn't reveal who would be inheriting his mansion or his warehouse of paintings. the dispute went public following the 54-year-old artist's death in april. his girlfriend claims he left her his house and that the proof is in two handwritten wills. but his wife portrayed the

girlfriend as a gold digger trying to steal her inheritance. now in headlines around the bay state officials have rejected a $30 million deal between the 49ers and south bay schools. two years ago, santa clara voters decided to earmark redevelopment tax funds for the new stadium. but the funds were eliminated by the state. the money was given to schools instead. the 9ers and the schools eventually decided to split the funds but now a judge is going to rule who gets the money. oakland is keeping the extra cash from overpaid parking tickets. that's according to a new report from the city auditor. last year the city made $316,000 in overpayments. state law requires cities to reimburse people who pay parking tickets twice by mistake. people have been waiting in the cold for hours in san jose for a massive toy and book giveaway. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran joins us live now from the sacred heart community service where thousands of children were get a gift this holiday.

>> reporter: good morning, michelle. yes, about 5,600 kids will be happy this christmas season thanks to sacred heart. look at these dedicated parents here. some of them have been in line since 5:00 last night. all of them bundleled up braving the cold and they say it's a small price to pay for their children. sacred heart community service has collected 17,000 toys and the toys will be given out to more than 5600 kids in the bay area. the organization has been doing this for the past 10 years as part of the christmas toy box distribution to help low income parents bring smiles to their children on christmas. parents we spoke to say times are tough. but the holidays shouldn't have to be a reminder of that. >> i have been kind of up this year and i want my kids to open up amazing kids like i said that this organization offers after i have been kind of unfortunate this year. it's a blessing. >> this is the completion of our holiday program. we gave out 3200 boxes of food

yesterday and this morning we are giving out toys at 10 a.m. to 5,690 children. >> reporter: as she said at 10:00 this morning parents will be able to pick out age- appropriate toys for their children. each child will get about three toys or books and there will be hundreds of volunteers on site helping out throughout the day. and the toys will be given out throughout the next two days. now, there is still time to donate or help out the organization. they tell me they still need toys for teens as well as books for all ages and you can drop those off here at the san jose location or go to sacred heart's website online. live in san jose, cate caugiran, cbs 5. >> thank you. the time now 21 minutes before 7:00. it's 6:39. doomsday debunked. how nasa says it can prove the world will not end tomorrow. >> that's a good thing, right? >> i guess. >> plus we continue to follow some breaking news in san francisco. crews have contained this fire near a historic fire station. our very own anne makovec is on the scene. we are going to have a live report from her and how it's affecting muni. >> and the market opened just

about 10 minutes ago. let's take a quick check on the early numbers the dow is off a little, no big deal, same for nasa -- or something like that. >> we'll be back with the real numbers in a minute. ,,,, [ female announcer ] here's to a whole world of happier holidays. time to enchant, delight and amaze. safeway will help you gather everyone round. a smoked, shank half ham is only 99 cents a pound.

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why let constipation stry miralax.? mirlax works differently than other laxatives. it draws water into your colon to unblock your system naturally. don't wait to feel great. miralax. breaking news out of san francisco. fire crews have contained a big apartment fire in the oceanview we have an update to breaking news out of san francisco this morning. as you look live at the aftermath of what fire crews have managed to accomplish this morning, containing a big apartment fire in the owe view district on bond street. >> they are trying to save this historic fire engine company this building next door. cbs 5 reporter anne makovec has

more on this fire. good morning. >> they were able to save the historic building broad street still blocked off by the fire trucks right now. but the fire is pretty much out. there could be some hot spots here in the building behind me. now, one firefighter was injured this morning. he has been sent to the hospital. he had smoke inhalation. he is expected to be okay. here's some video we took a few minutes ago. the fire started in an apartment on the second floor of this three-story building a rear apartment and the fire started in either of the kitchen or bedroom according to firefighters. they don't yet know how the fire started. significant damage to the apartment where it started. and also, a lot of smoke damage to the apartments on the third floor and the attic, as well. it took about 70 firefighters about 45 minutes to put this fire out. there are 8 apartment units in the building. and all the people who live in

the building are now being helped by the red cross. muni pulled up a bus here so people can stay warm. some of them might be able to return to their apartments later on this morning. the m line of muni, they have a bus bridge set up right now to take people from this area in the ingleside district of san francisco to west portal. anne makovec, cbs 5. >> to sort out the traffic impact, elizabeth wenger reports. >> right there by broad and plymouth you see the fire trucks. they are blocking the tracks on the m oceanview line so they are having to use bus shuttles instead. it's affecting outbound service. the bus shuttles are in place for people heading from that neighborhood out towards west portal. all other muni lines on time and bart no longer experiencing residual delays. they got the fremont line on

track. ace and ferries good to go. word of an overturn on westbound 580 on the approach to 980. the overturned car on its roof blocking at least one lane. so we'll continue to keep you updated there. in the meantime, back outside here's a live look across the golden gate bridge. both directions flowing nicely this morning. they did lane changes early and so far, so good along the stretch and continues to move down on 101 and 280 along the peninsula. let's take a quick look towards the bay bridge toll plaza. the metering lights have been on since just after 6:00. and so now we have delays quickly stacking up launch to the macarthur maze. here's about the foot of the maze for about a 15- to 20- minute wait to get you on to the span. that is a check of traffic. for more on your forecast, looks like it can be a wet morning commute tomorrow. is that right, lawrence? >> quiet today though so far. cold in many parts of the bay area again. out the door, looks like the

winds haven't picked up but they will this afternoon. and we are going to see that rain on the way. increasing clouds throughout the day today. showers developing in the north. and then periods of rain on and off right into the weekend. this looks like a good storm heading in our direction. outside now a few clouds over the bay otherwise quiet. temperatures frosty in spots. 29 in concord. 39 in san jose. 30 and freezing in livermore. fairfield at 26 degrees right now and 27 in vacaville. so a cold start to the day. but we have this storm system headed toward the bay area. it's a slow mover. it is going to bring some rain in the north bay probably later on this afternoon and tonight. the winds will be picking up out ahead of this cold front. could see some gusts to 50 miles per hour toward the coastline and over the mountaintops. going to be blustery all around the bay area. overnight tonight and into tomorrow. our latest computer models show it slowly making its way in toward the bay area in the afternoon, maybe beginning to pick you want a couple of showers, but really slowly moving tonight into tomorrow morning.

so the commute tomorrow is going to be a mess early on. you could see some heavy rainfall and strong gusty winds. today though, should stay mostly dry with the exception maybe of a few showers north of the golden gate bridge late in the day. temperatures are only going to be in the 50s and then the next couple of days, here we go again, the whole pattern changes. the jet stream dives to the south. we are going to see rain on and off right on in through the weekend and probably monday too. looks like we may catch a dry day, wouldn't you know it, on christmas day. but winter, the first day of winter looking very wet around the bay area. that's the latest, guys. back to you. >> thank you, lawrence. mail carrier u.p.s. expects today to be its busiest in history. deliverymen will deliver about 28 million packages across the country. about 300 parcels a second. tomorrow is the deadline to be sure your gifts arrive by christmas eve. the latest numbers on unemployment claims and the economy were released about an hour ago. here now is kcbs financial reporter jason brooks with more

on that report. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. all the attention on wall street these days over the "fiscal cliff" but we are getting some key signals on the economy. in particular with a job market. the labor department says that first time unemployment claims rose by 17,000 to 361,000. that's after four straight weeks of declines. four-week average is over 367,000 but that level does suggest modest growth. the economy revised for the final time by the commerce department in the 3rd quarter. up 3.1%. quite a bit stronger than its last take and more than doubling what it did in the 2nd quarter at 1.3%. economists are expecting the economy to pull back in the current quarter. lots of concerns over the "fiscal cliff" reining in business investment and the lingering effects of superstorm sandy. >> a big deal for the big board. intercontinental exchange offering $8.2 billion to buy nyse euro net and that deal has

been approved by shareholders and needs regulatory approval. stock market pulling back on the "fiscal cliff" concerns just as it did yesterday when the dow dropped 100. right now the dow lower by 9. nasdaq is down by 5. s&p is moving lower by 1. >> brian and michelle, back to you. >> kcbs financial reporter jason brooks. thank you. the blame game over the "fiscal cliff" continues on clip. speaker of the house john boehner is pushing ahead with his plan b. the house will vote today on the gop bill that cuts taxes for everyone who makes less than a million dollars a year. democrats say that bill is not balanced and have already promised to defeat it in the senate. the president says republicans should accept his deal. >> at some of point there's got to be i think a recognition on the part of my republican friends that, you know, take the deal. >> i hope the president will get serious soon about providing and working with us

on a balanced approach. >> the president's latest offer provides $850 billion in spending cuts over 10 years while raising $1.3 trillion in revenue mostly by raising taxes on incomes over $400,000 a year. new this morning, russian president vladimir putin says that he is worried that a push to unseat syrian president bashar assad could plunge the country deeper into violence. putin calls for a settlement that would prevent the country from breakup and an endless civil war. this comes as violence in syria's civil war escalates across the country. and right now, a hearing on capitol hill about embassy security. two deputies secretaries of state are testifying before d.c. lawmakers on the deadly consulate attack in benghazi, libya. secretary of state hillary clinton was supposed to answer their questions today. but she is recovering from a stomach virus and a concussion. she is expected to testify sometime next month. scathing reviews from d.c.

on the new movie about the osama bin laden raid. democratic senators dianne feinstein and carl levin and republican senator john mccain say that "zero dark thirty" is grossly inaccurate and misleading. they are upset about the way the film depicts sky interrogations. they want the film studio -- cia interrogations. them. the film studio to say it's not based on fact of. 6:52. take a deep breath. nasa promises the sun is going to rise on saturday. >> ha. >> they promise. >> that's good. >> the space agency has been busy debunking doomsday rumors for weeks getting hundreds of calls a day believe it or not. some think the world will simply end tomorrow because the mayan calendar stops there. others think that a rogue planet or maybe a massive meteor an as steroid is on the way to destroy us but busting that myth is easy as looking through a telescope. >> one doomsday rumor has a planet, a rogue planet named

mibiru or planet x coming into the solar system and crashing into earth. this is silly. if there were such an object, anybody could see it. it would be one of the brightest things in the sky. >> the great david morrison. he's terrific. as for rumors about solar flares wiping us out, nasa says this solar cycle, the sun goes in 11-year cycles in activity, they say this cycle is wimpy. residents in one orange county neighborhood are protesting the elaborate light display one of their neighbors. look. >> it's so cool. >> it's amazing. >> the kids think it's cool. hundreds of spectators gather around this home to watch the show each night many neighbors complaining that the display is too bright and loud. and it attracts too much traffic to their quiet street. >> not that we're opposed to christmas but this just too much! >> it is loud. the "holiday light" show uses more than 65,000 bulbs,

multiple lasers, and even a fog machine. some people complained to the residents about the city council but the homeowner only received a noise violation ticket. it's cool. >> it is neat. christmas trees normally go in living rooms or other areas of the house. this one though goes through the roof. take a look at it. it's actually an optical illusion. the family cut the 14-foot tree in two parts. the bigger half is in the house, the smaller half is on the roof. the family did bolt the prop to the roof so the wind wouldn't blow it off. but i'm thinking the family is just -- they're geniuses. >> they actually did a good job with that. 6 minutes before 7:00. coming up a final check of our top stories and including a live look of thousands lining you want for a free toy and book giveaway in the south bay. ,,,,,,,,,,,, ,, ,,,,,,,,

an apartment fire in san francisco forced residents out into the cold this morning. heavy flames and smoke blocked muni's outbound m line service in the oceanview district. we know that one firefighter suffered smoke inhalation injuries. you're taking a live look from the ground right now. now from chopper 5, you can see all of the crews and the fire trucks out there. we also know that the paramedics transported the firefighter to the hospital as precaution. they had major smoke damage in the complex, as well. >> of all things that was taking place next to a historic fire building that didn't sustain any damage. we have the latest on traffic and weather. >> we'll just briefly note that

the m oceanview line is impacted still because of that fire that has been knocked down in the city's oceanview neighborhood. [ no microphone ] >> the tracks are blocked because of the trucks and fire gear there. they are setting up bus bridges. all other mass transit is on time of. lawrence? >> ladies first. >> got that right today. >> folks, outside mostly clear skies, couple of clouds drifting in temperatures chilly outside now. down into the 20s and 30s there. so a cold start to the day. clouds gathering though. temperatures only in the 50s maybe some showers late in the day north of the golden gate bridge. >> all right. lawrence, thank you. volunteers in san jose are getting ready for a big holiday toy and book giveaway. more than 5,000 children will get a present this holiday season thanks to the sacred heart community service. we have a live look at people waiting in line on first street. sacred heart has collected more than 17,000 toys and books to give away today. it all gets under way at 10:00. people had to preregister.

you can help out. the organization is still short on gifts for teens and books for all ages. >> and thank you for watching "eyewitness news this morning." remember, your next local update is at 7:25. >> so we'll see you then. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com good morning to our viewers in the west. it is thursday december 20th, 2012. welcome to "cbs this morning." the president comes out swinging on the fiscal cliff and on gun control. we'll talk to bob schieffer to see if the white house can get things done on either front. >> a powerful storm sweeps across the midwest, disrupting travel and bringing fears of a holiday nightmare for millions. >> america's most popular car gets a failing grade on an important new crash test, plus in a rare interview, david letterman opens up to charlie about